Skyful of trouble

AMBOY – Every time an Amboy football player looked to the sky on Friday night, something bad happened.

First, the St. Bede Bruins used an effective aerial attack to grab a 7-0 lead over the Clippers. Shortly after that, lightning was detected to the northwest, and a weather delay went into effect.

The halt in play lasted from 7:41 p.m. until 9:15, when a combination of game officials, coaches and athletic directors made the call to suspend action. It will resume at 7 p.m. Saturday.

A near-constant lightning display was located just northwest of Amboy, but very little rain fell until about 9 p.m., when the heavens opened up. There were numerous downpours after that, and the decision was finally made to call it.

The bulk of fans took shelter in their cars and/or neighboring houses, while both teams, their cheerleaders and students from both schools huddled in the hallways and gym of Amboy High School.

After the opening kickoff, St. Bede needed just five plays to cover 79 yards and put seven points on the board. The capper was a 51-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jack Brady to freshman wide receiver Braidy Shipp. The pass covered just 15 yards, but Shipp outran the Amboy secondary the rest of the way.

Brady was 3-for-3 on the drive for 76 yards. Michael Bellino, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound fullback, rushed two times for 10 yards. The Bruins were also penalized once for five yards.

“We’re going to get a big dish of Bellino on Saturday,” Amboy coach Gary Jones said. “Obviously we need to play better defensively.”

Amboy sophomore linebacker Dallas Appleman suffered an injury to his left knee on the second play of the game and had to be helped off the field. He will be evaluated on Saturday, and his status will be determined at that time.

The game will resume with St. Bede kicking off to Amboy, with 10:29 remaining in the first quarter.